You can forget the somersaults of the dolphins at the mouth of the Grand Canal. In Venice we “start again” right where we left off: from Saturday the Grandi Navi could return to splash around in the Lagoon. And the first to enter the San Marco basin, after more than a year, could be the one that crashed on the quay of the port of Santa Marta in the summer of 2019. If this is not a restart!
I nomi
Waiting for the “never again to the Great Ships” to be transformed into a mandatory device, to end it with the speculative logic of the real estate developers and with the tourist flows out of control, a group of celebrities and scholars have written an open letter to the President of the Republic, to that of the Council, to the Ministers of Cultural Heritage and Tourism, to the President of the Region, to the Mayor and to other authorities. The letter is titled “Decalogue for Venice” and the writer is Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, directors Francis Ford Coppola, James Ivory and Wes Anderson and British actress Tilda Swinton. With them, brought together by Toto Bergamo Rossi (director of the Venetian Heritage Foundation) are patrons such as David Landau as well as museum directors and scholars including Richard Armstrong, of the Guggenheim in New York, Françoise Nyssen, former minister of French culture, Gary Tinterow , of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, critics Anna Somers and Christopher Bollen, artist Anish Kapoor and many scholars and directors of our house.
Polluted city
For the writers “a special statute is needed for Venice, a law that protects not only its physical integrity, but also its cultural identity”. They demand that “not only the immense artistic heritage be preserved, but also the city life that gives the soul”. This objective can be achieved through a choral effort based on a “Decalogue”. Ten points that concern as many critical issues. One: given the very high amount of public funds already used, it is considered “necessary to complete the discussed Mose”. Two: Venice is the third most polluted port city in Europe, «from March 2020 due to the pandemic the traffic of the Big Ships has been suspended, but now it is about to resume. A definitive stop is hoped for ». Three: «Safeguarding the lagoon ecosystem», which means taking care of the seabed and paying attention to the currents of the Lagoon. Four: management ofovertourism (in 2019 there were 25 million visitors) through “access for groups through compulsory reservation” and adequate rules of conduct. Five: war on renting, real estate speculation and bed & breakfasts to rebalance the relationship between occasional visitors, guests, inhabitants and hotel reception. Six: «Facilitations for commercial premises and long-term rentals for residents» in order to avoid the impoverishment of the economic fabric. Seven: “Control of commercial licenses” since many food and beverage and tourist entertainment activities would be managed in an unprofessional and often abusive manner. Eight: greater control of urban decor as Venice risks being reduced “to a playground like Disneyland”. Nine: “A new management of water traffic” to avoid the waves that cause erosion of buildings. Ten: «The planning of cultural events should be organized through the creation of a control room». In essence, the signatories hope that the gradual return to “normality” will become an opportunity to rethink the management of Venice.
June 2, 2021 (change June 2, 2021 | 08:33)
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